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How wind trubines kill bats

How wind trubines kill bats

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

If they make them in the form of "The Cross", that might keep the big ones away.

Seriously, who would have thought.


 

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

I wonder if they've tried 'deer whistles' on the blades?

 

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Isen't this the same issue as birds being hit by the blades.

It's not that hard to believe these flying things being hit by the blades whose tips move at about 200 MPH.

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Right; they don't have any predators that fast.  Even the ones who've learned about cars are not prepared for that kind of speed, especially with no significant noise signature.



 

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

(OP)
this must be akin to a wind shear for birds and bats, they don't know it until it is too late to avoid a collision

Steven C
Senior Member
ThirdPartyInspections.com

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Interesting. Although, anyone could have thought of that solution.

peace

Fe

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

What solution was that?

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

'deer whistles' I think.

I think the effect would be like a speeding car that keeps honking it horn. You can't hear the horn till it's to late.

 

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

The one in the article...

 

Fe

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Cranky:  Did you even read the article?  Doesn't sound like you did.

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has apparently offered to be more accomodating to wind turbines, if they will cooperate in locating turbines away from critical birding areas.  Here,
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-213213

Regarding the latest news, it remains to be seen what the Royal Society for the Protection of Bats' position is on this matter.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Deaths of birds and/or bats should always be considered in relation to other factors that kill them:
Denmark studies this in 2001 (there are hundreds of giant windmills in that tiny country):

Windmills: 30,000
Automobies: 1,000,000
Cats:    55,000,000

Reference: David MacKay
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/withouthotair/c10/page_64.shtml



If it were up to me, we could ban cats, instead!
 

Steven Fahey, CET

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

It appears to be standard practice amongst those types of studies to normalize death rates attributable to one particular factor with all other known factors.

I hope you get along well with mice.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Wind turbines are killing raptors which are far less likely to be affected by cars or cats.
Plus there are far fewer raptors than sparrows.
It isn't enough to simply post the numbers.
 

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

"It isn't enough to simply post the numbers".
I believe there is paper work also with each one.

This is a simular issue with power lines.

So why can't we just help nature replace the lost raptors? Or even bats?
We do it with fish, and endangered species.

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

If it was your family, I'm not so sure you'd be happy with that strategy.

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

lol

Fe

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

They need to be virtually extinct first. e.g. beavers and wolves proposed to be re-introduced to the UK. It is probably easier to protect and preserve than it is to re-introduce, especially if their niche has been closed or taken over.

I am very happy with the return of red kites (some sheep farmers not so happy) to parts of Wales. Never mind wind turbines, their survival has been difficult as they are vulnerable to unhappy farmers shooting or poisoning even now they are protected. When populations are at risk, just a few extra mortalities can trip the population over the edge.
Unliek song-bird or scavenger populations, raptor populations are much smaller as might be expected and thus more vulnerable.

JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
 

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

So we breed fish because they are endangered? Or because we want to have fun with them?

Yes reducing the number of bat or raptor deaths is desirable, but as I pointed out there are alternitives to keep the species viable.

If you consiter the life time length of the wind turban, probally about 15 years, which is short in natures scheme. So we only need to worry about it for this cause for this time period.
However, the question remains, what will happen to the wind farms after there life? Will they be abandon, destroyed, or life extended?
So how long will be required to sustain these species?

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

"Sustaining" a species is feasible in theory, but seldom works in practice.  River trout were declining in a western river, so US Fish & Wildlife got the bright idea to bring in trout to "sustain" the species.  They brought in lake trout, who's favorite food just happens to be ... river trout, who's favorite food happened to be some kind of fly, now some fly population is up and the larve are eating the trees, increased runoff is dirting the water and lake trout are declining, so more and more must be brought in each year.  Nature's plan is much more intricate than can usually be comprehended by mere mortals, let alone actually managed by them.  We should stick to managing Wall Street and automobile companies.  Those are the things we're really good at.      

**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Big Inch, JMW,

Thanks for your comments.  I read the doubt and humour mixed together.

BI: It appears to be standard practice amongst those types of studies to normalize death rates attributable to one particular factor with all other known factors.

JMW: It isn't enough to simply post the numbers.

Good points, but what alternative do you propose?  Of course they seem exaggerated!  I'm not a wildlife zoologist, so I'm not well equipped to think critically about studies of bird populations, migration routes, death rates, predators, differential vulnerabilities between species, etc... but what choice do I have?  I agree that every time someone with a vested interest produces a "study", the public is stuck either evaluating the results or accepting them wholesale.  

My personal approach is to repeat these figures, with references, on a forum where there is a chance for some reasoned debate and see which way the wind blows.

 

Steven Fahey, CET

RE: How wind trubines kill bats

Salmon were introduced into the Great Lakes in the 1960s to reduce the alewife (invasive baitfish) population.  Now the alewife populatin has crashed (due to another invasive species), and the salmon are crashing as well.  Also crashing is the multi-billion dollar salmon sportfishing industry.

So, now we need to maintain the population of an invasive species we tried to eliminate for the sake of an industry that would not have existed had the invasion never happened.

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